Metering electrical distribution system including a metering panel-board.



F. P. SKEEL. METERING ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM INCLUDING A METERING PANEL BOARD. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1905.

987,650, Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. P. SKEEL. METERING ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM momma A METERING PANEL BOARD.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7. 1905. 987,-65 Patented Mar.21,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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REDERICK F. S-KEEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' METERING ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM INCLUDING A METERING- PANEL- I BOARD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK F. SKEEL;

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois; have invented a certain new and useful Metering Electrical Distribution System Including a Metering Panel-Board, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metering electrical distribution systems and is designed to provide an organization and apparatus which is particularly simple and compact, and -which will admit of changesbeing made in the connections between the load circuits and the meters. without disturbing the permanent connections. and with a minimum of effort and rearrangement of parts.

In insta.lling electrical systems in buildings it is customary to provide a'load circuit individual to each room or suite to be occupied by a single tenant, and to provide an individual meter therefor. It is also customary to lead all. of the load circuits in the building or in a certain section thereof,'as

for instance a single floor, from a central station which is in circuit with suitable supply mains; the current bei'ng branched at said station and distributed to the several load circuits.

In the initial installation it is customary to provide a separate meter for each load circuit, butafter the building is occupied it frequently occurs that a single tenant will occupy a space having a plurality of load circuits arranged therein and as it is desirable to measure all of the current used by each terant upon a meter individual to him it becomes necessary to disconnect the. several load circuits from their-individualme- 40 ters and to connect them upon a single meter. Again, where the several load circuits are connected"onto 'a single meter and are arranged in the space occupied by a singletenantit. may hecmnc necessary because such .45 tenant relinquishes to 'another a part of the space used by him, to disconnect one or more of the load circuits from said meter and connect it or them with one or more additional meters. I

In large buildings it is constantly occurring that a number of rooms. or a number of load circuits theretofore used 'by a single tenant, is divided among a number oftenants, and that a number of load circuits theretofore used bya-number of ten;

ants or users are taken over by a single user. In the first instance it becomes necessary to disconnect certain of the circuits-from one meter and connect them with several independent meters. In the second instance it may be desirable to discard a. number of the meters and to connect the circuits so comcontingency under the practice prevailing prior to the introduction of my invention considerable work is entailedliu making the necessary changes. v

-The present invention aims to provide a device or apparatus which is installed at the .time a building is wired and is constructed originally to provide for the probable maximum number of meters for independent users, and the robable maximum 'numberof load or trans ating circuits, and is adapted to be quickly altered for various appropriations of floor or office space to different users.

My invention is clearly pointed out in the appended claims and may be embodied in several forms of apparatus differing in details of construction from one another. A preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a. face view of a panel board madein accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof. the meters and con nections'thereto being shown diagrammatically. F ig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section of the board. F ig. at illustrates diagrannmitically the wiring connecting sai translating circuits. y

In the exemplificat-ion of my- =nvention. shown in the drawings. A desiqirk'tes the panel'hoard proper made of Sui-.yliie insulating material as slate.

aa designate binding posts for the feed wires 1 and 2 which posts extend through the plate and are provided on the lower surface thereof with sockets (1? a to receive the feed wires. V

I3 designates. as a whole. a double pole switch of familiar type. the poles at the hinged sides of which are electrically connected with the binding screws (I u. The spring terminals?) receiving the. swinging blades I) of said switch are formed on bars B B which are aiiixed to the front face ot' the board A. The supply bar 13 is on the PQSitlVe Side and :t-he' rcturn bar B on the hined with one' or more meters. In either Specification of Letters Patent. Patented lIar, 21, 1911, Application filed August 7, 1905. Scrial No. 273,080."

1 board with the meters and a number t negative side.- The bar B is connected by means of short bolts b b which extend through the bar and plate, with sockets 'b" on the rear face of the plate with which are connected the wires 3 that lead .to the meters C C C (Figs'l and-4). negative bar B of said switch is connected b means of a post 1) extending theret roughand through the board with a short strip or bar 1) upon which aremounted sockets b with wh ch are connected wires 4 leading also to the meters '0 C C The wires '3 and 4 thus connected with the meters and switch establish circuits for the current which operates the meters, and the wires 4 constitute parts of the circuits in which are included the meters and translating devices as will more fully hereinafter appear.

D, E, F and G designate bus bars which '20 are attached side by side in any suitable manner tothe rear face of the panel board. In-the present instance, three meters and three bus bars E, F and G are shown. The

fourth bus bar D is notconnected with a meter 1 '30 the meters C, C C by means of conductor bars E F Gr attached to the bus bars and provided at their ends with sockets e f g to receice wires 5, 6 and 7 leading to the meters (Figs. 1 and 4). The house bus bar D is connected with the bar B by means of a shortconductor bar D attached to the house bus-bar and a pin d extending through said bar, D and into the said bar B of the switch.

H, H designate conductors or bus bars which are designed to be electrically connected to corresponding sides of the consumption or iload circuits J. The bus bars H, H, which may hereinafter be called users bus bars are fixed on the front fa'ce in crossed relation tothe meter bus bars on the other side of said board. The users bus bars and meter bus bars are provided at their points of intersection with alined holes located at the ends of holes in the board, as

more clearly shown in Fig. 3, and said intersecting bus bars are adapted to be electrically connected by any suitable means as for example the plugs h extending into the sockets formed by the alined holes or openings in the bus bars and the board A, as shown in Fig. 3. Said plugs, as herein shown, have the form of pins which are screw-threaded at their inner ends and engage screw-threadsin the holes of the meter bus bars. 'The heads of the pins areslotted to receive a. screw-driver whereby the plugs may bereadily removed from and inserted 6% into said sockets. Said transverse bars H terminate in split terminals hf which are- The return or' The said meter arranged in pairs with other split terminals t that extend through the board and are attached at the rear side thereof to a bus bar I that is affixed to the panel by said terminals. The bus bar I and terminals i constitute the negative or return conncctions for the consumption,.load or translatmg circuits J. Arranged opposite to each pairof terminals 71. 2' are the positive and negative terminals 7' j of translating 'circuits J. The opposing pairsof terminals h i and j j are bridged by suitable switches K which are shown as provided with fuse coils. But one switch K, provided with a fuse coil, is shown in Fig. 1, but it will be understood that when the device is operated at its full capacity each two opposing terminals [L2 i and j 7' are bridged across by one of said switches. These'terminals may be any familiar form of spring contact clips and the switches K may be provided with any suitable knife bars to enterbetween and contact with said spring clips. The bus bar I is connected by a spanner bar I with the negative or return bar B In Fig. 4, parts of the circuits, which are shown in their mechanical form in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, are reduced to conventional diagrammatic representations, the bus bars, switch bars and their connections being thown in said Fig. 4 as having the form of mes.

In the diagram shown in Figxtbut seven translating circuits are shown, being onehalf of the capacity of the board shown in Figs. 1, 2' and 3. Six of said circuits'are metered, while the seventh translating circuit is in circuit with the house bus bar; and is not metered. With the lay-out herein shown it is to be understood that the cur-' rent is metered outside the several branch circuits (the line wire or house meter not being herein shown) so that the difference between the reading of the house meter and that of the meters C (1 C of the several independent users will indicate the amount of current used by the house. If desired, instead of employing. a meter in circuit with the feed wires 1 and 2, the house bus bar D may be connected with a meter as are the bus bars E F and G, so that all the current used by translating devices in circuit with the bus bar D will be shown on such latter meter. The meter operating circuit is established through the wires 3 and 4 connecting the feed and return wires, respectively, with the meters. The circuit over which passes the--current'for the translating circuits J may be traced through the wires 3 leading from the positive side of the switch B to the meters, the wires 5, 6 and 7, the meter bus bars D E F and G, the users bus bars H, the connect-ions thereot to the positive sides of the circuits J from the nega- I inserted are indicated by h. It wi bus bar I and from thence to the negative side of the switch B. In the diagram shown in Fig. 1, the plugs h are indicated by black circles and they indicate with which of the translating circuits Jueach meter is in circuit. The sockets into which said plugs are be seen irorn said diagram that the meter C is in 'circuit with the third and sixth translating circuits J, the meter C is in circuit with the second and seventh translating circuits, the meter C is in circuit with the first and fourth translating circuits, and the fifth translating circuit is in. circuit with the house bus bar D- It may be assumed that Fig. 4 illustrates diagrammatically seven lamp clrcuits of a lighting system for seven different rooms or suites of an office buildin In said diagram the first, second and third circuits,= reading from the left hand side of the diagram, are shown as independcntly metered,-one by each of the meters C Of. If it be assumed that the conditions are such that it is desired tometer said first, second and third circuits by meter C, the plugs h in said diagram connecting their associated users bus bars with the meter bus bars]? and E are removed and inserted in the. sockets h associated with the meter bus bar G or that in circuit with the meter C. Similarly, if it be desired to transfer one of the translating circuits J which is shown in Fig. 4 incircuit with one of the meters C TC C, as .a house translating circuit, the 35' lug h associated with the users bus bar I I of that circuit will be removed and inserted into the socket of said bar associated with the'house bus bar D, whereupon the current, consumed in said circuit will be charged to the house. v

From the foregoing examples of the manner of transferring the translating circuits from one or more meters to another and of transferring said circuits from the meter bus bars to the house bus bar, it will be obvious that any combination of circuits may be transferred to one or more/of the meters or to the house bus bar and that such act of transferring a circuit to either of the meters and independent users of current, and the number of translating circuits is equal to the number of usersbus bars H associated with said meter bus bars. Itwill, therefore, be noted, that the panel board may be lengthened or widened indefinitely, within practical limits, to provide for a greater or less number of meters and a greateror less number of translating'circuits. The translatmg circuitsJ may represent the several circuits of a portion or the entire fioor of an office buildin or may represent theseveral floors of a actory building, or the sev eral buildings'of a group of buildings supplied from a single current generating plant. In the latter event the circuits designated herein by the letter J- would represent the feed wires leading to the several buildings, and eachbuilding may in addition be equipped with a panel board and a nuinber of meters operating in each building as does the construction herein illustrated and described.

It will be understood, of course, that the switch B may be dispensed with and thev feed and return wires 1 and 2 be connected directly with the main supply and return bars 13 B It will also be understood that while I have shown the users and the meter bus bars positioned upon opposite sides-of a panel A, the panel being of insulating material, I donot intend that my invention shall belimited (except in the specific claims drawnuto that construction) to such details,

since it is manifestthat the only requirement of the invention in this particular is thatsaid bus bars shall be normally at break distance and adapted for electrical contact with each other. Hence in the claims that follow I desire the phrase users bars normally insulated from the meter bars to be understood to 'cover any arrangement. whether by a panel of insulating material, as A, or otherwise. whereby the said bars are normally out of but adapted for'eleetrical contact with each other.

It is to be understood that the scheme of wiring the several circuits and the arrangement of the bus bars or conductors may be changed from that herein shown, and that other variations may be made in the details of construction and arrangement within the scope of the invention, as pointed out in the appended claims attached hereto. I claim as my mvention:

l. A metering panel board comprising a.

base of insulating material, main feed wire terminals mounted thereon, a plurality of sets of meter circuit terminals also mounted on the base, a plurality of sets of load circuit terminals mounted on the base; a con-. ductor electrically connecting one -member of each set of load circuit terminals to one of the feed wire terminals, a second con ductor connecting a second feed wire terminal with one memberof each set of meter c1rcu1t term nals, and means for connecting one or more of the remaining load circuit terminals to a second terminal of any one ofthe sets of meter circuit terminals.

uiinal with one mein 2. A metering panel board comprising a base of insulating material, main feed wire terminals mounted thereon, a plurality of sets of meter circuit terminals also mounted on the base, a plura-lit of sets of load circuit terminals mounte on the base, a conductor electrically connecting one. mem, ber of each set of load circuit terminals to one of the feed wire terminals, :1 second conductor connectin a second feed wire ter-' %)01' of each set of meter circuit terminals.- and means for connecting one or more of the remaining load circuit terminals to a second terminal of 'any one of the sets of meter circuit terminals, said means including a conductor between the last-named meter and load circuit terminals comprising a part extending through thebase.

3. A metering panel board comprising a base of insulating-material, main feed wire terminals mounted thereon,.a plurality of sets of meter circuit terminals also mounted on the base, a plurality ofv'sets of load circuit terminals mounted on the base, a conductor electrically connecting one member of each set of load circuit terminals to one of the feed wire terminals, :1 second conductor connecting asecond feed wire termi- =nal with one member of each set ofmeter circuit terminals and means for connecting any one of the other meter circuit terminals to one or more of the other loadcircuit terminals, said means including a permanent bar and a movable connecting device.

4. In a metering electrical distribution system, a support, a plurality of meters, main meter circuits, a-plurality of load circuits, main feed wires, a shunt connection between each meter and one of such -wires, a connection between one side of each main meter circuit and one of the feed wires and between one side of each load circuit and another feed wire. and means for establishing detachable electrical connection between the remaining side of any one of the main meter circuits and tlieremaining side or sides of any one or more of the load circuits, comprising a conductor permanently mounted on the support and individual to each of said remainingsides of the load circuits, a. conductor permanently mounted .on the support and individual to the remaining side of each of the meter circuits and devices for detachably connecting such conductors of the load circuits meter circuits. substantiallyas described.

5; A metering panel board comprising a base of insulating material". main feed wireterminals mounted thereon. a plurality of sets of meter circuit terminals also mounted on the base, a plurality of sets of loadcirwith one inem to the conductors of the cuit terminalsmounted on the base, a conductor electrically connecting one member of each set of load circuit terminals to one of the feed wire terminals, a second conduca second feed wire terminal er of each set of meter circuit terminals, and means for connecting one or tor connectin I more of theiremaining loadcircuit terminals to a second terminal of any one of the sets of meter circuit terminals, said means including bars constituting a perinanent part of the panel board and disposed in parallel relation to one another and in proximity to the middle portion of the base, anddevices independent. of said bars and designed to detachably. engage the same.

6; In an electric current distributing system, the combination with the main feed and return wires, plurality of translating circuits and a plurality of meters in circuit withthe feed and return wires, of a plurality of meter bus-bars severally in circuit with the meters, a plurality of users busbars each in circuit with one side only of one of the translating circuits anddisposed in cross-wise relation to the meter bus-bars and means located at the intersection of said meter and users. bus-bars for establishing electrical connection between said bars.

7. In an electric current distributing system, the combination with feed and return of translating circuits, a plurality of meters, the latter in circuit with said feed and return wires, of a plurality of meter bus bars, a wire connecting each meter with one of said bars, a plurality of users bus bars disposed in cross-wise relation to the meter bus bars and each adapted for electrical connection with one side of one of the translating "circuits, means for establishing electrical connection between the other sides of said translating circuits and the main return wire, and means located at the intersection of the users and meter bus bars foresgablishing electrical connection between said ars.

' 8. In a system of electric current distribution, the combination with main feed and return wires, a plurality of meters and a pluralit of translatin circuits, saidfnleters being in circuit with t e feed and return wires to establish operating circuits, of a plurality wires, 'a plurality of meter bus bars arranged side by side andeach in electrical communication with one of the meters, a plurality of users bus bars dis posed in crosswise-relation to the meter bus bars, and each in'circuit with one sideof one the other side of.

tributing systems, comprising a plate or board made of insulating material, a plurality of meter bus bars arranged side by side on one face of the board, a plurality of users bus bars arranged on the other side of said board in cross-wise relation to the meter bus bars, a feed and return wire" switch, terminals connected with both sides of said switch and adapted for connection with meter Wires,

terminals connected with the meter bus bars adapted for connection also with meter wires, terminals on said users bus bars associated in pairs with return terminals adapted for connection with translating circuit terminals by a switch, a bus bar connecting said return terminals, and itself connected with the return side ofsaid feed and return wire switch.

10. The combinationwith a main supply and a return wire, a plurality of meters, and a plurality of translating circuits, of a panel board made of insulating material, a plurality of meter bars arranged on one side thereof, each electrically connected with one of sald meters, a plurality of users bus bars on the other side of said board and disposed in cross-wise relation to said meter bus bars and adapted for electrical connection with said translating circuits, said bus bars and meterbars being provided at their points of intersection with openings arranged in line with the openings in said board and constituting sockets, and plugs adapted to enter' sa'id sockets.

11. A system of electrical power distribution including meter circuits each having one side connected to a supply main and'the other side to a conductor; consumption circuits each having one side connected to another of the supply mains and the other side to a conductor crossing the said conductors belonging to the meter circuits; and means for connecting any one of the said meter conductors with any one of the said consumption conductors.

12. A system of electrical power distribution including meter circuits, one terminal of each being connected to a supply main;

consumption circuits, one terminal of each being connected to another supply main of different potential from the first; and conductors, one for each of the remaining terminals of the meter circuits and consumption circuits, each of said meter circuit conductors crossing and being adapted to be connected to each of the said consumption circuit conductors.

13. A system of electrical power distribution including a panel board; meter circuits, one terminal of each being connected to a supplymain; consumption circuits, one terminal of each being connected to another supply main of different potential from the first; and conductors, one for each of the remaining terminals of the meter circuits and consumption circuits, said meter circuit conductors being on opposite sides of the board from the consumption circuit conductors, and said meter circuit conductors crossing each of said consumption circuit conductors; and means for plugging through the board from any otsaid conductors on one side thereof to any of said conductors on the other side thereof.

14. As an article of manufacture, a panel board for electrical power distribution consisting of a board of insulating material, bus bars, meter circuit terminals and consumption circuit terminals mounted on said board, one of each pair of said terminals being associated with a bus bar, the meter circuit terminals and consumption circuit terminals being associated with different bus bars; conductors mounted on said board, each being associated with one of the remaining meter circuit terminals; other conductors on the opposite side of the board and arranged at an angle to the first, said last mentioned conductors each being associated with one of the remaining consumption circuit terminals; and said board being apertured at the inter sections of the said conductors for receiving a plug for electrically connecting them.

15. In a panel board-for electrical power distribution, the combination with an insulating body, of two sets of conductors running transversely to each other on opposite sides of said insulating body, said insulat ing body being'apertured for permitting a conducting piece to pass through it to con ncct any one of theconductors on one. side of said insulating body with any one of the conductors on the other side of said insulating body; supply mains mounted on said insulating body; means for electrically connecting one of said supply mains to one set of said'transverse conductors, and, other means for electrically connecting another of i said supply mains to another set of said transverse conductors.

. 16. A panel board for electrical power distribution having supply mains, two sets of conductors running transversely to each other, the different sets being in different, superposed but separated parallel planes;

said transverse conductors being ada ted to v ductor int one set to any one of the conincluding meters for electrically connecting one of said supply mains to one set of said transverse conductors; and other ineans including lamps for electrically connecting another of said supply mains to another set of said t arysterse conductors.

In es itnony, that I claim the foregoing asniy intention I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses this 2nd day of August A. D. 1905.

FREDERICK F. SKEEL. Witnesses TAYLOR E. BROWN Geo. R. \VILKINS. 

